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Tuesday, 14 October 2014

Keeping Time

When I was thinking of this image of a person running with a bunch of clocks strung around their neck, I wasn't sure if it should be a man or woman, or one of each running together. I considered having one person with the clocks around their neck just standing and looking at their watch at a bus stop, but to my mind that seemed too static.

As you can see in image 1, I drew the body completely and tried to get the posture and body and proportions looking good. I put a second sheet over the first and drew the clocks and watches. You can see that in the final image (3) I stretched out his right leg and the shadow which add to the feeling of him running toward us and helps to describe his long stride - yes, I can see the shadow is too big under his near foot... OOPS!! I knew it was important NOT to see the character's face, that his action and the clocks were more important. I hope it looks like he's holding his hat on his head, but it could also be interpreted as him "doffing" it to someone we can't see. I really like how the inking turned out; very smooth and flowing lines that are lively and the herring bone texture on his pants, while not perfect by any means, looks pretty good. He didn't turn out as frantic as I'd hoped, but his almost business-like stiffness is intriguing and brings us to another aspect to this discussion; the title.

One person who viewed this wanted to call it "Salesman" and my Christine suggested "Keeping Time". I opted for the second, which (as the ever clever Christine said), such a title "opens doors, it doesn't close them."

I don't always like nailing down what a drawing is about, and honestly, I don't really know WHAT this one is about! It's a neat image! But having said that, the title "Salesman" narrows one's imagining about it too much. When I finished the drawing, I started to wonder who he is? Is this a personification of Time, sort of like how Fate is split into three women; one who spins the thread, one who measures out the length and one who cuts? What's this guy's story?

I love the title "Stealing Time" for this illustration! I also love the sense of rapid motion and the herringbone texture on his trousers. To me, the way his face and right hand are positioned suggest that he's trying to ward off something or someone instead of trying to keep his hat on or doffing it.

I love the title "Stealing Time" for this illustration! I also love the sense of rapid motion and the herringbone texture on his trousers. To me, the way his face and right hand are positioned suggest that he's trying to ward off something or someone instead of trying to keep his hat on or doffing it.